PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Directed by Luke Shanahan, Rabbit is a new psychological thriller featuring a very impressive performance by The Great Gatsby’s (2013) Adelaide Clemens. She stars as medical student Maude Ashton, who returns home to Australia when she has a series of dreams that lead her to believe she knows the whereabouts of Cleo, her missing twin sister.
When she returns home, she meets up with Ralph (Alex Russell: Carrie 2013), Cleo’s fiance, and Henry (Jonny Pasvolsky: Mordecai 2015), a cop obsessed with the case. They decide to follow the clues from Maude’s dreams and attempt to locate Cleo.
The trio end up at a spooky caravan park, where they meet Nerida (Veerle Baetens: The White Queen TV series), a doctor with mysterious intentions. Maude soon finds herself involved with a strange cult. She must face them for herself to truly discover the truth behind Cleo’s disappearance.
There is so much to like about this film. From the very beginning, Rabbit feels like a beautiful nightmare. The music booms menacingly across every frame, instilling a sense of doom. The scenery is stunning, but in a lush, dark, and lonely way. The acting was excellent on all fronts, especially from Adelaide Clemens, our Alice stuck in this terrible nightmare Wonderland.
The only problem with this film is that there never really seems to be a satisfactory reason for Nerida’s bizarre obsession. Regardless, Rabbit succeeds in its beautiful, terrible exploration of the language and bond that exists between twins. But more than that, this film explores the bond that exists between brother and sister, mother and daughter, father and son, and whether simply loving one another is ever enough. It’s the type of film that is better experienced than analyzed. It’s worth every bit of the dazzling journey.
